Rwanda - anybody been?

bainbridge

bainbridge

bainbridge

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Rwanda has been in the headlines for a while now due to the ongoing deportation bill. I read that the Rwandan president was dissatisfied with the way that the UK press was portraying his county, and because I like to think of myself as a critical thinker, I did some research of my own.

It looks like a good place to visit. I was thinking of spending a week based largely in Kigali but spending a couple of nights nearer the safari areas.

I've always wanted to visit Africa and had a trip booked to The Gambia a few years back, but shortly before departure the president lost the election, was not happy and things got dodgy there, so I followed UK gov travel advice and cancelled.

Rwanda looks like a good place to visit as a first time in Africa.

Anyone been?
 
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Yes. Was there earlier this year for work, and last year, and a colleague has just come back.

It's alright, nothing to write home about, but then I was just working in Kigali. Felt pretty safe, more so compared to some other African countries.
 
Shadowness said:
Yes. Was there earlier this year for work, and last year, and a colleague has just come back.

It's alright, nothing to write home about, but then I was just working in Kigali. Felt pretty safe, more so compared to some other African countries.
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Thanks for sharing your experience of having been there. Just out of interest, have you visited any other African countries?
 
Shadowness said:
Quite a few yes
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How does Rwanda compare to the other countries that you've visited in general?

I'm planning on spending a couple of days in Kigali to visit the genocide memorial and the museum, then a trip to view some wildlife. Many of the reserve areas seem to be near bordering countries such as DRC and from what I gather, Rwanda has tensions with pretty much every bordering country, so I might simply do a long day trip out to a reserve rather than staying near the border.
 
I would say it compared to Tanzania on many levels (bear in mind I pretty much work in the capital cities, where the government buildings are, but also sometimes in smaller cities).

Definitely wasn’t as ‘bad’ as Nigeria, or parts of Ethiopia (but I have had some amazing trips to there too).

I‘ve mainly travelled to the more stable countries in Africa, so the bordering countries like DRC I couldn’t comment on.

But it’s a pretty easy country to get in, no ’send away passport for VISA‘ etc.
 
It's definitely worth a visit if you do it properly. Spending a few days in the mountains with the gorillas is humbling. Having a silver back grunt, stare you in the eyes as he effortlessly pushes you over to walk past is a thrill. It's not cheap and the hiking can be tough. All good tour operators will ensure you have a well trained guide & armed ranger. As yes the Congo can be the wild west and the borders in the mountains are 'soft'. Don't DIY that part of the trip. As you will need permits and legally the above anyway.

Rwanda is incredibly clean, plastic bags have been outlawed for over a decade. They take a lot of pride in thier environment.

The reconciliation centre in Kigali is worth a sobering visit. The people have unfortunately been given a chance at a fresh start. On the whole they are getting a lot of things correct. You will be treated very well and welcomed as a foriegner.

Night clubs. The music that is coming from the Congo is bad ass, some of the hybrid d&b gives me the same hype as the late 90's in Bristol.

Food - stay away from the cold goat stew, the layer of congeield fat you need to break through to get to the rich and smokey billygoatness was more than my constitution could handle.
 
@Blackbadger Thanks for your response, it sounds like you had a great time there.

Well I've bought an air ticket. The only direct flights to Kigali are from Heathrow once per week via Rwanda Air. As an alternative to driving to Heathrow and parking in the long stay, I've booked an indirect flight from Bristol (where I live) with KLM, transferring at Schiphol in Holland. It's a 2 hour 15 min layover on the outbound flight and a 55 min layover on the return, so not a huge increase in journey time, and luggage transfer will be handled by the airline.

The trip is in the last 2 weeks of April, so gorilla trekking will be very difficult given the rain, however I'll be happy to just do some observing in the national park flatlands and see what there is to see. Birdwatching is supposed to be very good in April.

After a few days of using Kigali as a base for some day trips I might move to another city or town, maybe closer to one of the lakes.
 
Less than a month to go for this trip.

Anti malarial pills purchased.. Yuk

Annual worldwide travel insurance bought.

First few days accommodation booked.

Considering hiring a motorbike over there but I'd need to do the CBT again and it's the back end of rainy season, so probably won't bother.
 
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